America’s Cup Panel Plans Theme Park : Money: Organizers vow not to repeat last year’s mistakes. An outside firm will run the park.

The America’s Cup Organizing Committee, vowing not to repeat the financial gaffes of last year’s regatta festival, announced plans Tuesday for a new theme park downtown.

The America’s Cup International Centre, scheduled to be open Jan. 24 and run through the end of May, will be a more cost-conscious offspring of the America’s Cup Village, which opened for nine money-draining days during the race finals last May, said Jane Eagleton, spokeswoman for the organizing committee.

The center has been contracted out to The Omnis Co., a Los Angeles developer of “location-based entertainment,” said Malin Burnham, organizing committee president. He spoke to reporters at the site where the center will be built, an asphalt parking lot near the intersection of Broadway and Pacific Highway.

The 2-acre lot, next to the Santa Fe train depot, was donated by the Cattelus Corp., Burnham said.

Plans for the theme park include food concessions, educational displays and interactive exhibits, live entertainment, a night club-like venue and a collection of video monitors displaying race footage.

The collection of TV screens and family-oriented attractions will give the center a “Monday-night football flavor,” part of Omnis’ attempt to attract visitors outside the “traditional yachting set,” said Jim Ishii, president of The Omnis Co.

“We’re trying to come in fresh and keep an eye out for what the public wants,” Ishii said. “We don’t want to have the same things that happened on the last go-round.”

Omnis has assumed all financial risk for the Centre, and will operate independent of the regatta’s $27.5-million projected budget, Eagleton said. Omnis was a consultant for Universal Studios and Walt Disney parks in Florida, and was an exhibit developer at the World’s Fair in Osaka, Japan.

Last year’s failure at the America’s Cup Village, which the organizing committee managed, was due to budget overruns, limited parking and what turned out to be an out-of-the-way venue at the Embarcadero at Sea Port Village, committee spokeswoman Eagleton said.

“Running a festival is not our area of expertise,” Eagleton said, “so now we have experts.”

This year, developers sought out a downtown location within walking distance from the America’s Cup administrative offices and museum, Eagleton said.

The challenger series of the race begins Jan. 25 and runs through the end of April. The best-of-seven, championship series begins May 9.